Overanalyze Again
by Kalcifier
Summary: Grima is dead, but Lucina still can't sleep. As it turns out, neither can Robin.


Grima was dead. It was over. They'd finally won, saved the past and the future, and now they could rest. If Lucina repeated it enough, maybe she could finally convince herself. Maybe she'd be able to close her eyes without being bombarded with images of death and destruction and loved ones returning as Risen to blame her for not saving them.

As it was, there was no point in trying to sleep. She still wasn't used to sleeping through the night. Trying to do so in a bed so soft it seemed to swallow her was just asking her brain to associate comfort with nightmares.

She spent most nights roaming the castle halls, Falchion at her hip. If she was lucky, she'd end up falling asleep in some empty room in the farthest-flung guest halls. The rest of the time, she told herself she was on patrol, that when things inevitably went wrong she'd be prepared.

She was aware it wasn't logical. She was just as grateful no one had caught her, because she'd be embarrassed to admit to it. But it made her anxiety stop screaming at her for just a little while, which was more than worth it.

Up until the night she turned a corner and found light pouring out of a room that had always been empty. She was abruptly thrown into a battlefield mindset. Was it another group of assassins? A new breed of Risen, intelligent enough to sneak into the castle? Validar himself, somehow back from the dead once more?

She charged through the doorway, Falchion drawn. When nothing charged her, she looked around wildly.

Her eyes met Robin's, which were wide with shock and alarm. Lucina froze.

"Hey," Robin said, once her initial confusion had faded and awkwardness had crept in. "Are you okay?"

She seemed uncomfortable. Lucina supposed that was a fair reaction to nearly being attacked in your best friend's castle in the middle of the night. The fact that her discomfort seemed to be growing as things calmed down was a little more worrying. She kept breaking eye contact to glance at her desk.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry to have startled you." Lucina glanced at the desk, but didn't see anything out of place on it. "What are you doing out here this late?"

Robin laughed guiltily. "I couldn't sleep. I assume you're having the same problem?"

"Unfortunately." Rather than try to meet Robin's eyes, Lucina decided to lean over the desk to see what exactly was bothering her.

The fact that battle plans were strewn everywhere was absolutely unsurprising. The nature of the plans was rather more intriguing. The desk was covered in layers of paper, and as far as Lucina could tell they were all variations upon the same basic ideas. Each one was adapted to counter a slightly different opening attack, their complexity growing as the papers piled up.

"These are incredible," Lucina said. She pulled out one of the earlier plans to compare it to the more recent versions. "What are they for? I haven't heard news of any wars brewing."

She looked up just in time to see despair flash across Robin's face. It was gone almost immediately, but Lucina was too familiar with the feeling to miss it. "Just trying to be prepared," Robin said, too lightly. "I don't expect anyone will be stupid enough to attack Ylisse at this point, but it's something to keep me busy.

Lucina might have bought it if Robin wasn't so clearly ready to change the subject. As it was, she frowned. "These seem far too detailed to just be a distraction. How long have you been working on them?"

"Oh, you know… a while." Robin sighed. "I didn't want to worry anyone, so whenever I had trouble sleeping, I refined these instead."

Lucina knew she was being hypocritical, but she had to say it. "You shouldn't worry about worrying us. I'm… we're all your friends, and we want to support you."

"But what if I wasn't yours?" Robin looked away, an attempt at a smile frozen on her lips. "I don't want to hurt anyone."

There was a sinking feeling in Lucina's stomach. It looked like there was more to this than the simple trauma of war. "You're not going to," she insisted. "Everyone is safe thanks to you. You're the one who killed Grima, even."

"But that's just it." Robin's gestured wildly, her tone bordering on hysterical. "What if I didn't? I mean, I am Grima, right? So long as I'm still alive, there's still a chance that he can come back somehow. That's what these are for." She flung an arm towards the desk. "If it comes down to it, I need to know that you'll be able to take me down."

Lucina was reminded of that awful confrontation they'd had that night in Plegia. She couldn't kill Robin then, for reasons she hadn't been willing to admit to herself, and after all they'd been through she definitely couldn't do it now. She couldn't help but worry that it was her fault Robin was even thinking like this. She hadn't thought she could regret that moment any more than she already did, but it turned out she had underestimated her capacity for shame.

She took a deep breath and shoved her emotions to the side. She could berate herself later. It wasn't like she'd be able to sleep, not when the image of Robin's face twisted in anguish was still so fresh in her mind. Right now, she needed to do whatever she could to lessen that pain.

"The mark of Grima is gone," she said. Her aunt had a certain soothing voice that Lucina had never been able to mimic, but she did her best to emulate it. "Grima has no more hold on you. In this timeline, he never did."

Robin closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her voice was almost back to its usual level practicality. "Not physically, no. But after I… after he died, I could feel him trying to take me with him. I had to fight him off for so long. And now I'm back, but I don't know if I really managed to get rid of him. Maybe he's still here."

A chill ran down Lucina's spine. Robin had flatly refused to talk about the year she'd been gone, and this was the first Lucina had heard that she'd had any awareness of the time between the last battle and her reappearance. The idea that the rest of them had moved on while Robin was still fighting for her very existence was hardly comforting.

Robin rubbed her temples tiredly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to dump that on you. I'm fine, really. I just need to know that you'll be safe."

"I need that for you, too." Lucina hadn't meant to say it, but the idea of losing Robin to her own mind terrified her in ways she couldn't begin to put into words. "You don't have to suffer alone like this. Please, just talk to me. Or anyone." She cut herself off before she said anything even more incriminating.

"I know, I know." Robin slumped in her chair. "Just… not yet. I don't know if I can right now."

Lucina wasn't thrilled about it, but it wasn't like she didn't understand Robin's reluctance. She hovered in the doorway, unsure if she had been politely dismissed.

Robin held out her arm. "No, you're fine." She paused. "I mean, if you want to stay. If you have better things to do than watch me wallow in self-pity, I'd understand."

Lucina lingered in the doorway for a moment longer before making up her mind. She went over and sat on the floor by Robin's legs. "I don't mind."

"Thank you." Robin huffed a laugh. "I know I just said I don't want to talk about it, but it turns out I don't really want to be alone, either."

"We don't have to talk about it. We could always talk about…" Lucina cast about for a neutral subject of conversation. "bears."

Robin gave an exaggerated shudder. "I've eaten enough of them to last me a lifetime."

"They can be pretty cute, though. I have some hats shaped like bears that are actually pretty adorable." And Robin probably didn't care about her wardrobe right now.

But while Robin's smile was still a little forced, she looked more relaxed than she had all evening. "I'd love to see them."

Lucina managed to keep the conversation going, one inane subject after another, until Robin at last slipped into a doze. She was a little disappointed that she wouldn't get to hear Robin's thoughts about the mysterious tactician of Lycia, but it was overwhelmed by her relief that Robin would get some rest. She thought about giving her some time alone, but she didn't want her to wake up and think that she'd been abandoned.

Lucina got up and closed the door, then settled herself leaning against the wall. It was hardly the least comfortable position she'd slept in.

And this time, when she woke up, she'd have her reason for fighting at her side.


End file.
